Guster grows up
Listen Up!
Brian Washburn
Issue date: 4/20/09 Section: Lifestyles
Contrary to some myths, musicians and bands grow older (see Mick Jagger). It is evident in some bands, whether it's in their appearance, sound or diminished touring schedule. And it's no surprise that Massachusetts' acoustic pop-rock band Guster is growing older.
Since hitting the college rock scene back in the mid-'90s, Guster has dazzled crowds with their unique live show and catchy (and, at times, touching) pop songs. Now the quartet has families, houses, bills to pay and passion projects that need tending to. While this has affected aspects of the band's demeanor, they certainly are not looking to stop any time soon.
Guster - consisting of vocalist/guitarist Ryan Miller, vocalist/guitarist Adam Gardner, drummer Brian Rosenworcel and bassist Joe Pisapia - have not stopped touring. In fact, touring (which many fans believe to be the band's bread and butter) has just gotten "smarter," Miller said in a phone interview last week.
"Rather than touring eight months a year, we're doing five months to sort of consolidate the tour to spend more time with our families," Miller said. "We're still really excited about being in a band, and (touring with families) is not completely uncharted waters. We're just going to do everything a lot smarter and better."
This new, "smarter" touring will make its way through Fayetteville tomorrow night, as Guster will also be hitting up several other college towns throughout the nation. But touring is not the only thing the band is cutting down on when it comes to life on the road. Gardner, along with his wife, have started Reverb, an organization devoted to finding ways to make touring "greener" and environmentally friendly, such as by using smarter fuels, recyclable batteries and water bottles. The touring life this year also will provide a delay for the band as they look to put out a new album by the end of the year.
"We're getting there," Miller said. "Basically, this album is going to follow the pattern of the last two. We go in, finish it, take a look and realized we need a few more songs. We have a bulk of the album finished. We just need to write and record a few more songs to round it out.
"There's no release date, but hopefully it will come out at the end of the year," he said. "But it won't be any time soon."
Although new material will not be released until 2010, Guster will provide fans their fix with their live show that has garnered critical and fan acclaim during their tenure as a band. From the intense live albums to the inventive hardcore percussion moves (playing with no sticks, bongos, etc.), the members do see themselves as a live band. But Miller also thinks the band's recorded material and live shows are two different aspects and should be treated as so.
"For a long time, our first couple of records didn't make a good record, so we were more of a live band," Miller said. "But there's definitely two sides to it. We don't try to recreate albums when we play live. It's sort of a different affair. Two different animals, and you have to treat them different. There's a lot of production in the albums and a lot of add-ins on stage. It's a huge part of our career. Being on the road has a lot to do with why we're still a band and still touring."
Being together for more than a decade also has allowed Guster the unfortunate challenge of pleasing new and old fans alike. But with every new album, every new sound and every new venture, Miller hopes fans see them as getting better than when they first got together in college in 1991.
"Hopefully we've gotten better," Miller said. "We sort of met in college, and the early records sound like some college band. And now we're adults and fathers and have remained music fans the whole time. We hope that maturity shows through and hopefully a band interested in pushing the boundaries of what it means to be in Guster."
Brian Washburn is the News editor for The Arkansas Traveler. His column appears every Monday.
Since hitting the college rock scene back in the mid-'90s, Guster has dazzled crowds with their unique live show and catchy (and, at times, touching) pop songs. Now the quartet has families, houses, bills to pay and passion projects that need tending to. While this has affected aspects of the band's demeanor, they certainly are not looking to stop any time soon.
Guster - consisting of vocalist/guitarist Ryan Miller, vocalist/guitarist Adam Gardner, drummer Brian Rosenworcel and bassist Joe Pisapia - have not stopped touring. In fact, touring (which many fans believe to be the band's bread and butter) has just gotten "smarter," Miller said in a phone interview last week.
"Rather than touring eight months a year, we're doing five months to sort of consolidate the tour to spend more time with our families," Miller said. "We're still really excited about being in a band, and (touring with families) is not completely uncharted waters. We're just going to do everything a lot smarter and better."
This new, "smarter" touring will make its way through Fayetteville tomorrow night, as Guster will also be hitting up several other college towns throughout the nation. But touring is not the only thing the band is cutting down on when it comes to life on the road. Gardner, along with his wife, have started Reverb, an organization devoted to finding ways to make touring "greener" and environmentally friendly, such as by using smarter fuels, recyclable batteries and water bottles. The touring life this year also will provide a delay for the band as they look to put out a new album by the end of the year.
"We're getting there," Miller said. "Basically, this album is going to follow the pattern of the last two. We go in, finish it, take a look and realized we need a few more songs. We have a bulk of the album finished. We just need to write and record a few more songs to round it out.
"There's no release date, but hopefully it will come out at the end of the year," he said. "But it won't be any time soon."
Although new material will not be released until 2010, Guster will provide fans their fix with their live show that has garnered critical and fan acclaim during their tenure as a band. From the intense live albums to the inventive hardcore percussion moves (playing with no sticks, bongos, etc.), the members do see themselves as a live band. But Miller also thinks the band's recorded material and live shows are two different aspects and should be treated as so.
"For a long time, our first couple of records didn't make a good record, so we were more of a live band," Miller said. "But there's definitely two sides to it. We don't try to recreate albums when we play live. It's sort of a different affair. Two different animals, and you have to treat them different. There's a lot of production in the albums and a lot of add-ins on stage. It's a huge part of our career. Being on the road has a lot to do with why we're still a band and still touring."
Being together for more than a decade also has allowed Guster the unfortunate challenge of pleasing new and old fans alike. But with every new album, every new sound and every new venture, Miller hopes fans see them as getting better than when they first got together in college in 1991.
"Hopefully we've gotten better," Miller said. "We sort of met in college, and the early records sound like some college band. And now we're adults and fathers and have remained music fans the whole time. We hope that maturity shows through and hopefully a band interested in pushing the boundaries of what it means to be in Guster."
Brian Washburn is the News editor for The Arkansas Traveler. His column appears every Monday.
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